Chapter 534

Johanna pursed her lips and pretended to look aggrieved. “Last time I called you that, Stephan scolded me. How would I dare to say it again?”
Imogen knew about that incident. She couldn’t help but feel a bit resentful toward Stephan for his lack of tact. Comforting Johanna, she said, “Don’t bother with him! We’re both sisters–in–law and sisters at heart. No one can change that!”
Johanna nodded happily, maintaining a docile appearance. However, her smile carried an unmistakable hint of mockery and
singness,
Unfortunately, Imogen couldn’t see it
Unable to flaunt her triumph openly, Johanna felt her satisfaction diminished slightly.
But the thought of her and Archie doing things as they pleased right under the blind Imogen’s nose filled her with a secret thrill and joy.
Johanna scoffed inwardly, “So what if you’re the eldest daughter of the Russell family? So what if your powerful status makes you untouchable? I’m the one who climbed step by step from the bottom with him! I’m the one who shares the deepest bond with him! I’m the one he truly loves and understands!”
She curled her lips into a smile, eagerly imagining the day when her efforts would all come to fruition.
m her waist
At the bottom of the canyon, Felicia released the rope she had rappelled down on and unhooked the safety harness from before scanning her surroundings.
The area was shrouded in thick white fog, heavy with moisture. Within moments, tiny water droplets gathered on her eyelashes, and even the stray hairs on her forehead were dampened by the fog
She couldn’t see far ahead, so she didn’t dare move recklessly for fear of falling into a hidden pit. Instead, she cautiously inched forward step by step.
Earlier, she remembered seeing Stephan running southeast from above. That was where the flat area Pete and the Carrell family members camped on
The visibility was so poor that she couldn’t see anything clearly. Worse still, the wind was blowing in the opposite direction, preventing her from hearing any sounds from that side. Then again, it was unlikely to have any
Softly, she called out, “Stephan!”
Her voice was deliberately controlled, barely reaching a few steps around her. There was no response. Stephan must have gone farther
away .
Just as she was about to move forward again, she suddenly sensed a subtle change in the air currents behind her. She quickly sidestepped, dodging a hand that lunged toward her from behind
Without hesitation, she drove her knee toward the attacker with a swift and powerful motion.
Though her overall combat skills were average and not suited for long–range combat, her mastery of close–quarter combat ensured she could overpower anyone within three steps.
The attacker seemed caught off guard by Felicia’s ferocity and instinctively retreated to avoid the knee strike aimed at his abdomen. He unwittingly fell into her trap. She seized the moment, throwing a sharp uppercut that landed squarely on his chin.
A pained cry echoed. It was a voice she didn’t recognize. The attacker collapsed to the ground, incapacitated.
But before she could catch her breath, another figure darted out from the fog.
“Nice timing!” she thought.
Her eyes flashed with determination. Her close–combat skills were something she had learned in her previous life while in prison. Back then, she had been bullied to the brink of despair until a fellow inmate taught her this technique.
From then on , in countless conflicts and confrontations, her combat skills had saved her life time and time again .
After her rebirth, she rarely had the chance to use them. Now, someone had come looking for a tight, so she could test whether her skills had grown rusty.
Felicia charged forward proactively. With a smooth chokehold and an over–the–shoulder throw, she slammed the second attacker the ground.